Carr throws TD with 1:21 left as Raiders edge Titans 24-21
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) The Oakland Raiders are very happy to win again, even if a penalty on fourth down gave them another chance at the game-winning touchdown. That's something the Tennessee Titans still are trying to figure out after blowing a fourth-quarter lead for the fourth time this season.
Derek Carr threw for 330 yards and three touchdowns, the last with 1:21 left to Seth Roberts, and the Raiders rallied for a 24-21 win over Tennessee on Sunday. The Raiders scrambled after giving up 15 straight points to blow their own 17-6 lead.
Carr called this win a big confidence boost for Oakland (5-6), which snapped a three-game skid.
''It just shows us we're doing things the right way,'' Carr said. ''It shows us that what we do works. You can win in this league with the way we're doing things. Now we just need to get better at doing it.''
The Titans (2-9) thought they finally made the game-saving play when safety Michael Griffin helped break up Carr's pass to Andre Holmes on fourth down in the end zone. But an official flagged B.W. Webb for holding Raiders wide receiver Amari Cooper before the pass was thrown, giving Oakland a fresh crack at the end zone.
''It's like a bad luck bug at the end of games,'' Titans linebacker Avery Williamson said.
The Titans had a chance at another comeback until rookie Marcus Mariota was intercepted for the second time, this one by Nate Allen with 43 seconds left to seal the win in a game Oakland dominated. The Raiders held the ball for nearly 35 minutes and had a 407-249 edge in total offense.
Here are some things to know about the Raiders' rare win in Tennessee:
CARR'S FUMBLE: Carr fumbled a snap from backup Tony Bergstrom, who started his second game in three weeks with Rodney Hudson out with an injured ankle. That fumble set up the Titans' go-ahead TD, a 1-yard TD pass from Mariota to fellow rookie Jalston Fowler with 4:41 left. DaQuan Jones only had to fall on the ball for the Titans.
RUN THAT WAY: Carr thinks Roberts could have had an even better day. The second-year wide receiver out of West Alabama caught six of seven passes thrown at him for 113 yards with two TDs, and Carr said Roberts would've had 200 yards if all his steps after his catches counted. Roberts caught the final pass of the first half and ran around the field in a circle, but gained just 5 yards before lateraling to Cooper. The rookie then lateraled to Carr, who promptly got down to end the half.
''I felt like the dad taking the ball telling the kids to go inside when I kneed it,'' Carr said.
Cooper also bounced back, catching seven passes for 115 yards.
MISSED POINTS: The Titans cost themselves chances at field goals twice with mistakes. Mariota was sacked by Khalil Mack in the second quarter, taking a 7-yard loss that pushed Tennessee out of field goal range. In the third quarter, Mariota was intercepted by David Amerson at the Oakland 19 after the Titans stripped the ball on a kick return. Mariota took blame for both of those plays on a day where he set the rookie passing record with 2,244 yards, topping Vince Young's 2,199 yards in 2006.
WHAT COSTLY PENALTIES: Tennessee had the most costly penalty with the defensive hold on Webb, but the Raiders were flagged 11 times for 94 yards. They improved to 4-0 when racking up 10 or more penalties, even though two kept alive touchdown drives for the Titans in the second half.
SUCCOP'S EXTRA POINT STREAK: The kicker had been perfect on the first 205 extra points of his career, but his first attempt Sunday was blocked by Denico Autry in the first quarter. That also was the first missed extra point by Tennessee since 2006.
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